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Chapter11
Amelia
Intense heat blanketed me as I woke up. My head was groggy, and goose flesh on my skin informed me that I had shifted back to human. No, that couldn’t be. I didn’t shift in my sleep; I never had before that I could remember. Though, if I was honest with myself, there were a few years around puberty that I couldn’t recall.
I stretched, feeling no pain and completely healed. My stomach growled just as I realized there were two bodies sandwiching me between them. Two very warm, very naked, and very male bodies. One had a leg between mine, and my arm had relaxed onto a well-defined stomach and rested very close to what looked to be the king of all sausages.
“I wondered if you would ever wake up.” Niko’s voice was deep and comforting. A little scratchy.
An arm snuck its way around my middle, drawing me farther back into the body behind me. A body, hot to the touch, comforting, and sensual. Miguel nuzzled my hair and kissed the nape of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. My body began to hum, and my nipples perked up from the exposure of the cooler air around us.
Birds chirped, and a cluster of dragonflies buzzed above us. I could hear a soft melodic tinkle of gentle water running over and through rocks, joining the morning sounds.
Niko rolled over and grabbed something from the back of our little alcove. I snuggled back into Miguel until my ass met his more than happy camper sandwiched between our bodies. I went completely still as my brain caught up with the fact that it was a very erect Miguel. I quickly pulled away, and he let me. I sat up, pulling my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them, trying to create a form of protection against the two very excited males in front of me.
“Relax, Amelia. We aren’t going to jump your bones.” Miguel’s quiet voice held a hint of hurt in its tone. I could feel the same deep pang in my chest. The sting of my reaction to him hurt me just as much. My soul screamed at me to stop, my tigress chiming in with her own whine of need. To get closer to him again, accept the love and warmth he willingly provided. I began to lean back toward him when Niko approached with full hands.
“At least not yet, love.” Niko handed over a pile of clothing to Miguel and me.
“Where did you get these?” I raised a brow.
“Jonah stopped by early this morning and brought us food from Betty and a bag of clothes,” he answered in a clipped tone. I looked up into his eyes and saw the struggle he was going through as well. Desire and a tad bit of fear swirled in those wide depths.
“Molly?” I asked before swiftly donning the T-shirt and sweats Niko handed me. His scent wrapped around me. My tigress purred, knowing our mates had provided for us; my human side wondered if they would ever let me wear my own clothes again. Jonah has access to all the guard members’ homes as part of his role in security, which explains why he only brought clothes from Niko and Miguel’s house. He didn’t have access to mine or any of the other pride members not associated with the security team. I looked around and didn’t see a bra, but at least the shirt was a darker color. My nipples puckered and were easily seen, but I couldn’t help that.
“She’s safe, but not letting anyone except Betty get near her,” Niko replied. His next words broke my heart. “Jonah said she thinks this is all her fault, and the guilt is weighing heavy on her little shoulders. Jax thinks it’s delayed trauma.”
“She won’t even let Tito near?” I gasped. She had willingly jumped on his back in the jungle, gripping his fur and waving, her face full of joy and confidence. I hated to hear she had pulled back into herself.
“No, she won’t talk to him or let him near her, according to Jonah.” Niko pulled out the basket of food. He produced juice, ham steaks, eggs, bacon, biscuits, and sausage gravy from it. He pulled out a Tupperware container and opened it. The ham steaks were cooked rare and already cut into pieces.
I took all the food offered to me and glanced up when I finished, seeing both men staring at me.
“What? I was fucking hungry.” I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand and then my hand on my sweats.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman eat so fast. Are you sure you tasted any of it?” Miguel teased.
“Didn’t need to. It was fuel for my body to replenish what I used over the last couple of days.” I glanced at Niko. “Wasn’t it?” I wasn’t ashamed of how fast I ate, but for the first time in my life, I was worried about how someone would take it.
“Yes, and I have to say I’m pretty damn proud of how much you ate.” Niko beamed.
“Look at him, glowing with pride at providing food for us, even if someone else cooked and delivered it.” Miguel smiled at Niko, giving me a wink on the side.
“Whatever,” Niko scoffed. “Eat up.” He handed me another container of food.
I cleared my throat and decided to jump off the deep end. “Are we going to ignore the elephant in the room?” I made a triangle with my fingers, connecting the three of us.
Niko and Miguel glanced at each other and then focused on me. Niko spoke first, “No, but my first concern is getting you back to Molly. My second is to make sure you and Miguel are settled at my place. As much as I would like to sequester all three of us away until we work through what all this means,” he created the same triangle with his fingers that I had, “I need to finish some things and make a few phone calls before I can join you.”
I bristled at his words. “I have my own place, thank you very much.” I crossed my arms.
“We know, but our drive to keep you safe means one of us wants to be with you at all times. At least right now. If you’d rather be at your place, I’ll join you there. I’m flexible,” Miguel offered.
“It doesn’t matter where you want to stay, love, just let us be close. Our animals are demanding it until we figure things out. Until our mate mark decorates your skin and our scents merge completely. Then and only then will they relax.” Niko’s hand landed on my knee and gently squeezed
I took a deep breath and pulled my knees into my chest, resting my chin on them. I needed to face my actions, come clean, and be honest. I couldn’t move forward with anything until I did; my tigress pushed me to open up to them. “I was stupid and irresponsible, and it almost got both Molly and me killed.”
Niko growled at my words, and Miguel scooted behind me, bracketing me with his legs and then crossing them beneath my bent ones. He wrapped his arms around mine and covered my hands with his. He kissed the back of my head as Niko spoke.
